K100 dies going 60 MPH

I was going 60 MPH when all of a sudden the battery light comes on. I pull in the clutch and it dies.

(1) The instrument cluster goes dead THE CLOCK STAYED ON!
(2) I push it home and disconnect the battery THE CLOCK TURNS OFF!
(3) I had been riding on washboard dirt roads the day before.

This is something electrical I think.

The manual doesnt have "engine dies abruptly at high speed" in the troubleshooting section.

What are the suspects?

What would shut down the engine and instrument cluster but leave the clock on?

Also, I checked the fuses, ALL OF THEM ARE THE WRONG VALUE, 25 AMPS INSTEAD OF 10, 15 AMPS INSTEAD OF 7.5 ON ALL OF THEM.

I bought this bike used last summer, dont know what the previous owners mechanic did.

Thanks, Geoff in Kansas!

orbitK100 said:

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What are the suspects?

What would shut down the engine and instrument cluster but leave the clock on?

Thanks, Geoff in Kansas!

Click to expand...

Flakey ignition switch. Try wiggling it and turning it off and on and see if the cluster lights up again. If so, clean switch.

http://ibmwr.org/ktech/clean-ignition-switch.shtml

http://ibmwr.org/ktech/ign-switch-disassemble.shtml

The clock should always be on if the battery is hooked up.

Search posts for ignition switch.
Kinda no brainer about the clock going off when you unhooked the battery. Now if it had stayed ON, that would be really strange.

Try cycling the ignition switch on and off several times and make sure the plug on the back of the switch and the instrument cluster is plugged in and not corroded.

I currently have my K100 torn down to replace the ignition switch contacts and clean all of the electrical connections. I found my wiring harness for the ABS reset switch was worn through, which explains why I can't reset the fault on my ABS.

Problems with over-sized fuses are normally noticed when the bike erupts in black smoke, they should not cause the bike to not run unless they are blown.

PS Welcome to the forum.

In addition to the ignition switch check the computer plug that it didn't vibrate loose on your washboard road ride.
Have you checked the battery itself, they can die suddenly, DAMHIK......

Bobmws said:

In addition to the ignition switch check the computer plug that it didn't vibrate loose on your washboard road ride.
Have you checked the battery itself, they can die suddenly, DAMHIK......

Click to expand...

Computer plug won't kill dash lights.

Bad ignition switch or kill switch will kill dash lights.

Does your bike still have the original tiny ground wire? If it does, you should replace it with the later type. The little one breaks internally after a while and will give exactly the symptoms you describe.

Fixed and broken again, will fix again!

Thanks to all who responded to my 1st question (is this what you "young 'uns" call a "blog"?)!!!
I messed with the electricals:

(1)Cleaned the battery and terminals of all "aqua acid gunk" (Owlsley should have used that one instead of Window pane, need to be OLD to get that one!).
(2)Wiggled the connectors of the fuel injector processor and main CPU.
(3)Pulled out the ignition/key switch and sprayed it with contact cleaner.

VOILA it ran!!

Got 4 miles from home and it died again!

PUSHED IT HOME IN 100+ DEGREE KANSAS HEAT.........HEY I NEED THE EXERCISE!!!
Got home drank too many beers.

Think I will try to take the key thingy apart and clean it.

OK back now....couldnt get inside of the cylindrical barrel of the key thingy.

Is there any little hooks to depress .
Dont want to force it.

Thanks again,

Geoff in Kansas

M J R.I.P. (Just Beat it!)

http://ibmwr.org/ktech/clean-ignition-switch.shtml

http://ibmwr.org/ktech/ign-switch-disassemble.shtml

Blue lines like the above are called "links". If you click on them with your mouse, they will take you to pages with all the info you need.

Instead of pushing the bike home, did you first try wiggling the key or remove and replace key several times and maybe drive it home?

Thanks 98lee

Thanks 98lee.
Ride safe.

4 miles, you know that BMWMOA card you got? Includes towing.

I feel your pain.

A new ignition switch uses the same key, just the bottom gets replaced and they are not that expensive. But I would go for the contact cleaner and cycling the switch to help clean it first.

I guess I should re-write this and add it to the K-DIY/Tech section:

http://www.eilenberger.net/K75S/IgnitionSwitch/index.html for visually oriented people, how to disassemble and clean the K bike ignition switch.

orbitK100 said:

Thanks to all who responded to my 1st question (is this what you "young 'uns" call a "blog"?)!!!
I messed with the electricals:

(1)Cleaned the battery and terminals of all "aqua acid gunk" (Owlsley should have used that one instead of Window pane, need to be OLD to get that one!).
(2)Wiggled the connectors of the fuel injector processor and main CPU.
(3)Pulled out the ignition/key switch and sprayed it with contact cleaner.

Click to expand...

I suspect happenstance. The key/switch is actually fairly well sealed up - and spraying the outside of it with contact cleaner won't do much. See my posting above for a link on how to disassemble it and clean/lube it the correct way.

VOILA it ran!!

Got 4 miles from home and it died again!

PUSHED IT HOME IN 100+ DEGREE KANSAS HEAT.........HEY I NEED THE EXERCISE!!!
Got home drank too many beers.

Think I will try to take the key thingy apart and clean it.

OK back now....couldnt get inside of the cylindrical barrel of the key thingy.

Is there any little hooks to depress .
Dont want to force it.

Click to expand...

http://www.eilenberger.net/K75S/IgnitionSwitch/index.html

Thanks again,

Geoff in Kansas

M J R.I.P. (Just Beat it!)

Click to expand...

I had a problem with my 85 k100rs, It would die while driving it. after cleaning my kill and ignition switchs, replacing the entire wiring harnes (Pre owner had an alarm, and some other funky stuff wired in) none of that was my problem.

My real problem was the hall effect sensor. There was a way to test it but I don't recall. maybe someone here knows.